My New Years Intention

It's the new year! Time to make a resolution or set an intention on how I'd like to live, love and interact in 2011. One of my New Years Intentions is to become a more informed consumer. I feel like I've made giant improvements in the way that I eat by doing some research to find out where my food comes from and making better decisions. Our household is currently purchasing 80-90% organic or local in the grocery store. I feel great with the choices I have been making when it comes to the food I put into my body.

I stopped eating meat at the age of 13 but just this last year I've started adding some fish to my diet to improve my Omega 3 and Protein consumption and I'm feeling great! We've been purchasing most of our fish at the Willy Street Coop and we've recently made the switch to sustainably caught canned tuna for sandwiches and salads.
Mike asked me the other day if I could tell a difference between the Wild Planet canned tuna http://www.wildplanetfoods.com/ versus the standard and cheaper StarKist brand.
I noted that I just feel better eating the Wild Planet version and it does taste and look better too! I think it's definitely worth the extra $2 a can. I will continue to do my research on other grocery products through the new year, however, now that I have the focus and knowledge to make better choices in the grocery store, I think it's time for me to move onto other consumable products!

Questions I intend to ask myself this year:
What are the ingredients in my shampoo, conditioner, lotion, makeup, and toothpaste? Are any of these known carcinogens or do they mimic hormones like estrogen?
What exactly does that non-stick pan have in/on it?
What are the ingredients in my cleaning products?
What about the saran wrap?
Do I need all of this plastic in my house?
Where were these clothes made? And by whom?

I've been wanting to do a sweep of my cosmetics and lotions for a while and switch to more natural products. The more natural products are of course a bit more expensive than the name-brands from Proctor & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson so I need a push. Also, I've always wanted to be more informed about the clothing choices I make to ensure that I'm not supported sweat-shop labor.

To get myself pumped up enough to put some serious energy into this endeavor I have picked up the book "The Body Toxic" by Nena Baker.

I just started reading it last night. The book digs into how the hazardous chemistry of everyday things, from our carpet, office chair, television, lotions, seat-belts and water bottles potentially threaten our health and well-being. Mike picked up the book last night when he saw it and said sarcastically, "Well that looks uplifting". I laughed! Truth...this is not uplifting. Luckily, I'm not looking for a feel-good story here, but rather some information that will outrage me enough to take some personal action. There are hundreds of chemicals in each one of us. We were born with some of them as they traveled through the umbilical cord while we developed in the womb and others we've accumulated. Scientists who are currently studying this phenomenon call it the Chemical Body Burden. Even those born after the DDT pesticide was banned may have DDT in their system as grasses and other products sprayed with DDT were consumed by animals and the animals held onto these chemicals for a period of time in their system, later those animals were consumed by humans who held onto these chemicals for a period of time and those humans had babies who may be born with trace levels of DDT. Are these trace amounts harmful to us? What about when we add this trace amount of DDT to trace amounts of 100s of other chemicals? It appears that we all have this Chemical Body Burden, I only want to learn how to make better choices to reduce mine.

Here's a link and video clip that have helped with my determination to fulfill my intention.

http://storyofstuff.org/cosmetics/



If you don't want to go down this road with me...I understand. However, I'm charging full speed ahead to a place full of more natural products and less synthetic chemicals...at least this is my intention!

Happy New Year!